Wondering what to do with smoked ham? This guide covers how to pick it, cook it, store it, and swap it, plus 49 recipes to put it to work.

What is smoked ham?

Smoked ham is cured ham that has been hung in smoke, usually over hickory or applewood, after the salt cure. The smoke is what separates it from a plain wet-cured ham.

It darkens the color and firms the edges, and it adds a savory woodsy depth that carries through anything you cook it in.

Almost all smoked ham you buy is fully cooked, so it is ready to eat cold or warmed. The smoke flavor sits strongest near the surface, which is why diced smoked ham seasons a whole pot so efficiently.

For city versus country ham and how to warm and glaze a whole leg, see ham. This page is about where the smoke earns its place.

Cooking With Smoked Ham

Smoked ham does its best work when its flavor gets spread thin through a dish.

Dice it and it turns a pot of beans or a chowder from bland to meaty, the move behind 5 Bean Soup and Spicy Cowboy Beans, where a cup of smoked ham does the work of a ham hock in a fraction of the time.

It also melts into comfort food. Folded into a cheese sauce it becomes Smoked Ham Mac 'n Cheese, the smoke cutting the richness of the cheddar.

Sliced, it is a sandwich workhorse, piled into Mom's Big Sub Sandwich alongside other deli meats.

Glazing a smoked ham works the same as any city ham, but the smoke means you can lean sweeter. A brown sugar glaze or a fruit preserve plays against the woodsy edge instead of fighting it.

Pairing and Mistakes to Avoid

Smoke and sweet are old friends, so pineapple, maple, brown sugar, and a touch of clove all flatter smoked ham. Sharp partners earn their place too: a grainy mustard, Swiss or sharp cheddar, and a splash of cider vinegar all keep the richness in check.

The trap is salt and smoke stacking up. Smoked ham brings both into a dish, so when it simmers a long time in soup the flavor concentrates. Salt the pot lightly and taste at the end, and you will rarely need to add much.

The other mistake is treating it like raw pork and cooking it hard. It is already cooked, so all you are doing is warming it and crisping the edges.

Substitutes

For the smoky backbone in soups and beans, a ham hock or smoked turkey leg gives you the same salt-and-smoke base, though the hock needs a long simmer to give up its flavor. A few slices of smoked bacon work in a pinch with more fat.

For sliced smoked ham in sandwiches, smoked deli turkey or Canadian bacon stand in, milder but in the same family. If you only need the smoke note, a spoonful of smoked paprika or a drop of liquid smoke gets you part of the way without the meat.

Buying and Storing

Look for ham labeled simply "smoked ham" rather than "ham and water product," which is pumped with more brine and tastes washed out. Naturally smoked beats "smoke flavoring added," which is just brine with a smoky seasoning and no real wood character.

Bone-in smoked ham has more flavor and leaves you a bone for soup. The meat should be firm and rosy with no gray cast or sour smell.

Keep it tightly wrapped in the coldest part of the fridge. An unopened vacuum-sealed piece keeps to its printed date; once opened, use it within three to five days. It freezes for one to two months before the smoky fat starts to turn.

Nutrition

Quick facts

Food group: Smoked ham is a member of the Sausages and Luncheon Meats US Department of Agriculture nutritional food group.

In Chinese

熏火腿

British (UK) term

Smoked ham

en français

jambon fumé

en español

jamón ahumado

How much does smoked ham weigh?

Amount	Weight

Related

Sausages and Luncheon Meats

Recipes using smoked ham

There are 49 recipes that contain this ingredient.

All 49 recipes